The 1892 United States elections was held on November 8, electing member to the

53rd United States Congress The 53rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 ...

, taking place during the Third Party System. Democrats retained the House and won control of the Presidency and the Senate. Following the election, Democrats controlled the Presidency and a majority in both chambers of Congress for the first time since the 1858 elections. In the Presidential election, Republican President Benjamin Harrison was defeated by former

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland won the popular vote by a margin of three percent, but won by a large margin in the electoral college. Populist

James B. Weaver James Baird Weaver (June 12, 1833 – February 6, 1912) was a member of the United States House of Representatives and two-time candidate for President of the United States. Born in Ohio, he moved to Iowa as a boy when his family claimed a ...

also carried five Western states and won a little over eight percent of the vote. At the

1892 Republican National Convention The 1892 Republican National Convention was held at the Industrial Exposition Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from June 7 to June 10, 1892. The party nominated President Benjamin Harrison for re-election on the first ballot and Whitelaw Reid of ...

, Harrison fended off a challenge from supporters of former Secretary of State

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

and Governor William McKinley of Ohio. At the

1892 Democratic National Convention The 1892 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois, June 21–June 23, and nominated former President Grover Cleveland, who had been the party's standard-bearer in 1884 and 1888. This marked the last time a former president was ...

, Cleveland defeated Senator David B. Hill from New York and Governor

Horace Boies Horace Boies (December 7, 1827 – April 4, 1923) served as the 14th Governor of Iowa from 1890 to 1894 as a member of the United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contempo ...

of Iowa on the first ballot. Harrison had previously defeated Cleveland in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

, and Cleveland's win made him the first President to serve non-consecutive terms. Cleveland's win in the popular vote also made him the second person, after Andrew Jackson, to win the popular vote in three presidential elections.

Reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...

following the

1890 census The United States census of 1890 was taken beginning June 2, 1890, but most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in 1921 when a building caught fire and in the subsequent disposal of the remaining damaged records. It determined the reside ...

added twenty four seats to the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

. Republicans picked up several seats in the

, but Democrats continued to command a large majority in the chamber. In the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, Democrats made moderate gains to win a majority (including the Democratic Vice President) in the chamber for the first time since the 1880 elections.

See also

References

Further reading